Day 154.

Today could have been a horrible, terrible day of driving, whining, tiredness, muscle aches and crying. But it really wasn't. It went by quickly, and we covered four states and 12 hours of driving between the hours of 7:30am and 10:00pm. It was extremely successful.

I am grateful for this very gift of a day.

I'm back in eastern Iowa spending the night with family and my kids are snoozing soundly in the next room. I'm pumped up on adrenaline, and can't sleep. But we're here safe and sound.

The day flew by - partly due to the wonderful family and friends who called to check up on me...some several times a day. And partly, it went so fast because of Tuesdays with Morrie, which I listened to on CD the whole way. It was the perfect length, and I literally finished listening to the book only about 4 miles from my sister-in-law's doorstep.

I have never read that book before, and I'm not sure why. When it came out, I missed the boat - I was in late high school/early college - and I just wasn't reading many books for leisure. And once it had become wildly popular, I guess it felt a little like My Big Fat Greek Wedding to me. A surprise success if you discover it early, but after you've heard all the hype, it just sort of sizzles. So, I never was that interested, sure it wouldn't live up to my expectations.

Fast forward 12 years, and here I am driving back from Colorado, feeling sad about leaving my sister and family, feeling grief over a deeply painful church conflict, looking back on my wonderful children behaving like angels in the backseat, and missing my husband whom I haven't seen in nine days. It was the perfect time in my life for this book. I needed emotion. I needed optimism. I needed to remember why we should savor every moment of this precious life. Even the sad ones. Even the grief-filled ones. To allow the emotions completely, but then to move on. And live for the relationships that all make these things mean something in the first place.